SUIT: The Small Stuff

The most traditional detials of hand-tailored suits have returned as more than men embrace the elegance of made-to-measure clothing

Jan 29, 2007

Tailoring. It's quite possibly the world's second-oldest profession. Seriously, because think about it: Those in the first needed to wear something on the way home from work, right? Okay, maybe not seriously, but unlike profession number one, the techniques of profession number two have changed greatly over the years, and never more so than in the past decade, when workrooms at suit manufactories have been updated, so that needle-and-thread men now share bench space with all sorts of electronic gadgetry. Nowhere is this more true than at places like Pal Zileri, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Canali, where technological advances--laser fabric cutters, computerized stitching machines, even ordering by modem--have allowed designers to make suits with mass-market, off-the-rack speed that are actually measured and cut and sewn to individual specifications. That's spurred an interest in the clothes of those who hew to the older ways, too. In either case, the result is a quality garment, outfitted with details that you'd previously have found only on custom suits. Details such as those you'll see in these pages. And, if you're smart, on your next suit.

WORKING SLEEVE BUTTONS AND OFFBEAT LININGS

Since 1893, Alfred Dunhill has been making masculine goods in the most traditional way, and so it's no surprise that its suits are made in the same style, with a measuring, a paper pattern, and three fittings. Of course, such old-fashioned methods don't mean that the suits are old-fashioned. Note this jacket's lining, which is visible where the working cuff buttons have been unfastened. It's not solid silk or even a stripe. It's a gingham check, a bit of a flash detail that makes this two-piece very turn of the century--the twenty-first. Three-button single-breasted blue-on-blue striped wool suit with flap pockets ($1,550) by Alfred Dunhill.

THE OVERSIZED SECURITY POCKET

On Pal Zileri's Web site, the details available on a made-to-measure suit are only the roll of a cursor away. Just one mouse click can show working buttonholes, various linings, or a pocket like this, which actually extends up past the button, inside the suit. A pocket constructed in this way allows a man to securely carry an oversized accessory--a billfold or checkbook or passport, for example--without its ever falling out. Three-button single-breasted wool windowpane suit ($1,750) by Pal Zileri.

A WELL-BEHAVED BREAST POCKET

The more you know about wine, the more you can appreciate the subtleties otherwise lost on the palates of the less informed. Likewise with fine clothing. Case in point, the breast pocket on this made-to-measure coat. Most cheaper suits have pockets that cut straight across the chest, level with the ground. This one, however, is curved to follow the contour of the torso, preventing it from gaping. Such a touch, by the way, can be done only by hand. Six-button double-breasted wool suit ($2,350) by Loro Piana.

A THIRD POCKET, THAT'S THE TICKET

We're guessing the last ticket you had was for doing sixty-seven in a fifty-five. Doesn't matter. The ticket pocket, that smaller one a few inches above your suit coat's right-hand hip pocket, found on the best made-to-measure suits, is rarely used for any kind of ducats, let alone an outsized traffic summons. It's there more to suggest a certain gentlemanliness associated with the tailoring of Savile Row, where such options originated. Six-button double-breasted wool pinstripe suit with ticket pocket and peaked lapels ($1,600) by Canali.

THE BOUTONNIERE LOOP

Maybe you wouldn't wear a flower in your lapel for any occasion other than your wedding. Wouldn't blame you. But just say you were the type of guy who now and again felt a little Maurice Chevalier. Well, then, you'd need to ask for a made-to-measure detail like the one on this suit: a thread loop behind the lapel that'll secure the stem of a cornflower (it should always be a cornflower) boutonniere without a pin. It's the kind of little touch that Oxxford, which makes just about the best American suit you can buy, has been incorporating into its clothes since 1916. Two-button single-breasted wool-and-mohair suit ($2,450) by Oxxford Clothes.

TROUSER NOTCH

A man who can afford a made-to-measure suit is a prosperous man. Prosperous men sometimes overindulge. Another lobster, a little more foie gras, one, just one, more bottle of Latour, and quite possibly a sack of White Castles. Which is exactly why a Zegna made-to-measure suit, which is fabricated at a state-of-the-electronic-art facility in Switzerland, has this notched waistband. It allows for expansion around the midriff (yours) without requiring an immediate trip to the tailor (its). Three-button single-breasted wool chalk-stripe suit ($2,125) by Ermenegildo Zegna.

THE REINFORCED WAISTBAND

Like the notch, above, this curtain waistband with pleating also helps the sveltely challenged. It's sewn to the actual exterior waistband and provides a little extra support, so an advancing gut won't turn it down and cause your lap to lap over your belt. Two-button single-breasted wool chalk-stripe suit ($2,000) by Saint Andrews.

CONVERTIBLE TROUSER CUFF

Gentlemen, what you see below is nothing short of a quantum leap in the science of keeping crumbs from accumulating in your trouser cuffs. On the left, what appears to be a regular cuff. On the right, that same cuff with its hidden button undone and the turnup turned down. Send 'em to the dry cleaner's that way and no more will you find bits of Aunt Dora's carrot cake on your person three months after you've eaten it. Three-button single-breasted wool suit ($1,750) by Pal Zileri.

BUTTON-FLY CLOSURE

There's something about trouser buttons, Mary's friend Ted would surely tell you. Like, being a lot safer than zippers, they're probably not going to ruin your prom. They're also not likely to be found on trousers that aren't custom or made-to-measure. Fear of scarring isn't the only reason to desire them, by the way: Tailors will tell you that they help the material stretched across one's lap lie flat, and are thus more flattering. Three-piece three-button single-breasted wool chalk-stripe suit ($1,950) by Pal Zileri.

SIDE TAB BUCKLES

You need a belt only when your pants really don't fit you, as they won't if you buy off-the-rack trousers, which are really designed to hang on the hips of any man whose waist falls within a certain two-inch range. When you don't need a belt--and you won't on a made-to-measure suit--the loops are replaced with these: side tab buckles, which provide a comfortable snugging on either hip. Two-button single-breasted wool pinstripe suit ($2,640) by Ralph Lauren Purple Label. For store information see page 142.

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